Monroe businessmen Walter Bober, Lester Johnson, Thomas Smith, William Schmitz and Robert Ableman began a new cigar-making operation in Monroe in March of 1964 hoping to manufacture 10,000 handmade cigars a week. The new interest in handmade cigar making was triggered when cigarette warnings began turning smokers to cigars. At the time, George Koepp, 80, local cigar maker for 60 years, was called out of retirement to head Monroe Cigar Co Inc. A building was secured in the area of the Swiss Colony (new business park at the time) and hand rolling began. Koepp and Vera Scherer handmade several hundred per day. 

The originator of Monroe’s famed Shoe Peg brand was the late Edward Lipchow who made cigars for 70 years. He sold his Havana Royal Cigar Co to Koepp in 1954, and the cigars were then made in his home. A peg, once used in shoemaking, was stuffed into the puffing end of each cigar as a gimmick, but became a mark of smoking quality. It was reported that Baumgartner’s sold about 1,000 Shoe Peg cigars weekly. Note the photo of our Courthouse on the box top. The bottom photo is a stamp on the bottom of the box stating retail price for each cigar is between 4 and 6 cents.

It is believed the man in the photo is Mr. Koepp, if you can confirm this is correct, direct the information to P.O. Box 804 or Linda Lostetter at lostetter68@gmail.com or 608-325-9730. These cigar boxes and many other interesting local items can be found at the Green County Historical Museum on 9th Street. The museum is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons June through September. The museum is run by volunteers and new volunteers are always needed.